Not Yet
Chapter 4 — Not Yet Time
Selene’s POV
I didn’t sleep. Not really. I closed my eyes, but my heart wouldn’t let me rest.
Kael’s voice... Mira’s laughter... the sound of the door slamming in my face—all of it echoed in my mind like a curse.
I didn’t belong here. Not in this cabin. Not in Ronan’s world. Not even in my own pack anymore.
I pulled the blanket off and slowly stood from the bed. My legs were shaking, but I didn’t care. I needed to go.
I needed to face him. I didn’t care if I died. He had taken everything.
My father’s home.
My title.
My heart.
Even my pride.
I wrapped the thin shawl around me and reached for the door.
The cold air hit me the moment I stepped out, but it felt good. The trees were still, the moon bright and watching. Maybe my father was watching too. I hoped he was. I hoped he knew how broken I was.
I didn’t get far.
Three steps into the snow and my knees gave out.
I fell hard—face first into the cold earth.
I didn’t cry out. I didn’t move. I just laid there, my fingers digging into the snow like it could take the pain away.
Footsteps.
Then warmth.
Then arms.
Strong ones.
Ronan.
He lifted me like I weighed nothing, cradled me to his chest, and carried me back inside. I didn’t open my eyes, but I felt his heartbeat through his shirt. Fast. Worried.
He placed me gently on the bed and started checking my legs, my pulse, my head.
“You’ve lost too much strength, Selene,” he said softly, wrapping a warm cloth around my ankle. “You’re still recovering.”
I opened my eyes slowly and looked at him.
His face was serious, his eyes kind... but I could feel the storm behind them.
“I have to go,” I whispered.
His hands paused.
“Go where?”
I bit my lip. “Back home.”
“That’s not your home anymore,” he said, more bitter than I expected.
“I know,” I whispered again. “But I need to see him. I need to tell him what he did to me. I need to—”
“You need to live,” Ronan interrupted gently. “Not walk into your own death.” I blinked at him, eyes hot with unshed tears.
“He took everything,” I whispered. “He humiliated me. He slapped me. He—he believed her over me. After everything I did for him.”
“I know,” Ronan said quietly. “I know what you did for him. I know everything.”
That shocked me.
I looked at him. “Why? How?”
He gave a small smile. “Because I was always watching. Because your father asked me to. He told me, ‘If anything happens to her, Ronan... protect her.’”
When I heard my father's name, something within me broke all over again. Another flood of grief tore through my chest. My lips trembled as I gasped, "I miss him so much."
Ronan sat beside me, placing a warm hand on mine. His touch was comforting.
"I do too," he said softly. "Your father was a good man. A wonderful Alpha. And he knew what Kael truly was, even if he never said it."
I'm so useless," I swallowed. "I couldn't protect his name, his home, his people..."
"Selene," Ronan spoke gently, his voice firmer now, "This is not the end. This is the beginning." I shook my head. "I do not want to wait. I want to fight now. I want him to pay. I want her to feel the pain I endure every second."
He touched my face—gently, as though I were delicate glass.
"I know," he said. "But revenge is served better when the enemy doesn't see it coming. He thinks he's won right now. Let him think that. Let him go high—so when he falls, he falls hard and never gets up again."
His words struck me to the core.
He was correct.
Kael thought he'd won. He thought he could steal my birthright, my father's legacy, and use my broken heart as a platform to build a kingdom from.
But if I was reincarnated.
If I trained.
If I became powerful.
He'd regret every second.
"You'll assist me?" I breathed, my voice small.
Ronan's gaze locked with mine, something unreadable on his face. "With all that I am," he said. "Not only for your father, but for you."
Silence between us. I didn't look away from him. I had a strange fluttering in my chest. Not love, not yet, but something soft. Safe.
"I will rise," I whispered.
He smiled gently. "And I'll be right beside you when you do."